18 seasons, 775 games for SC Riessersee: SCR captain Florian Vollmer says "Servus"

Created: 04/09/2022, 16:00

By: Christian Fellner

A trellis for the captain: Team-mates Florian Vollmer prepared a dignified farewell after the last game in Füssen © Andreas Mayr

The official statistics service of the German Ice Hockey Federation lists 775 appearances for SC Riessersee for Florian Vollmer.

The playoff game against Hannover was the last for the 37-year-old Mittenwalder.

He ends an impressive career.

In the Tagblatt interview he looks back.

Now

Florian Vollmer

: So mediocre, I would say.

At first glance, not that much has changed compared to a normal end of the season.

You see anyway that you gain a little distance, get out of the training.

Maybe I'll really realize it when I don't have to train in the summer, in August when I don't have to go to the ice rink anymore.

Then there will certainly be a little melancholy, but I've had enough good experiences in ice hockey that I can live with it.

How did you feel about the degree?

It was another special season with the last game in Füssen?

I'll put it this way, if I could have chosen it, it would of course have been nicer to play the game at home in the ice rink.

But I have to honestly say that I was surprised at how many people were actually there and what a nice farewell the spectators and players gave me.

I was really more emotional than I thought.

I thought I'd take it a little cooler.

But especially with my little one in my arms, who was a little emotional herself, it really hit me.

But that's the way it should be.

It would be rather bad if it didn't grab you at all!

Yes, of couse.

The time was too long for that, I did it every day, even for a club, it was something special.

You said the situation isn't much different at the moment.

But hasn't a burden been lifted?

I have to say that I didn't just make the decision just before the playoffs.

At the beginning of the season it was clear to me and my family that it would be my last.

Of course, my everyday life already feels a little different because I'm already planning my professional future.

When you leave as captain after so many years, how do you say goodbye?

In your role, you are not just anyone on this team.

Was there a speech?

In fact, I haven't said much about the boys yet.

There's still a team outing.

I'm sure I'll find a few words.

I had a personal farewell talk with Pana (CEO Christakakis, editor's note) and Pat (coach Cortina).

But the boys still found very nice words in the dressing room, Simon Mayr, Pana and Pat. At that moment I was really emotional and not prepared for it either.

I couldn't find any words at all.

That was almost a little too much for me.

Farewell to the coach: Pat Cortina with Florian Vollmer.

©Andreas Mayr

Making the decision when is the right time to quit - how do you do that?

When did you first consider quitting?

The first time I actively thought about it was a few years ago.

That was after the bankruptcy, after the great Zeitliga season 2018. None of us expected the end back then, I even had a longer-term contract.

And then it was over from now on.

I didn't know what the future would bring, how would things look professionally.

At that point it was already clear to me that I no longer wanted to leave Garmisch-Partenkirchen, that I didn't want to move and leave my family at home.

If it hadn't gone on in the Oberliga, that would certainly have been the time to say: 'That's it'.

But things turned out differently, and at the same time I have been able to build up my second mainstay in the past few years with my dual studies in sports economics.

I've always said to myself that I'll stop

when I finish my studies.

Now in February it was time.

That's when I finished my bachelor's degree.

However, the job will not have been the only factor.

No of course not.

Over the years I've built up a few ailments that have made it more difficult to always be fit for the games.

This is also a mental story of coming back again and again.

It's getting harder and harder to overcome every year.

A very important point is my family.

My daughter is now at the age when she has tennis or ski races at the weekend.

I want to be there.

At some point, that conflicts with my own profession as an ice hockey player.

I've done this long enough.

When did your injuries actually start?

The origin of the whole thing goes back quite a long time.

I think ten years, yes, I was around 27, 28. At that time I had an operation on my hip.

Since then, the hip has been my Achilles' heel.

And the surrounding structures have always caused problems because they had to stabilize the hips.

A stupid movement was often enough to cause trouble.

In the runners-up season I had an injury at this point that kept me out for three months, which doesn't make it any better overall.

Then you just take it with you.

You stop as a record player at the SCR.

What does that mean to you?

I'm not known for being a total stats buff.

But of course it means a lot to me.

The SCR is my home club, for which I have played since I was young.

I've played 18 seasons, continuously since 2009.

I'm super proud that I did it.

Do you sometimes regret not being in the hockey world anymore?

No not at all.

In 2009 I met my wife.

It was always clear to us that we wanted to stay here in the region, even if it comes from Augsburg.

But she liked it immediately.

From there I never had wanderlust or the need to go anywhere else.

Your furthest station was Crimmitschau.

What are the memories?

Totally good.

I was in my early 20s, traveling alone.

It is very important for a young man to get away from home, to be so far away that you are no longer within reach of your family.

I had to take care of myself, got to know what life is really like.

Everyone thinks: Phew, Crimmitschau, what did you do there!

But this is a nice family club with a super nice environment.

I met Alex Heinrich there, who is now captain at Hannover.

He has become a good friend of mine.

It's funny that we played against each other again in my last game.

A lot has happened at the SCR since your first assignments in the senior section.

That was around the turn of the millennium.

How did you experience the development?

If you look at the roughly 20 years, my first full season, 2002/03, was super successful, final against Freiburg, runners-up.

For me as a young player, it wasn't all that special back then because everything was new anyway.

But when I look back at the times now, it's crazy what happened back then.

This season, the spectators, the team, we had great players here.

And how long did it take until we were in a final again in 2018.

In between we have experienced many lows.

After the story with the bankruptcy back in 2003 and relegation to the Oberliga, games didn't start again until the next season - that wasn't a great time for the spectators.

I think there were a few seasons in which the SCR didn't do the best advertising for itself - for a variety of reasons.

Not only in Garmisch-Partenkirchen itself, but also nationwide.

Over the years, attempts have been made to reflect.

The great 2017/18 season actually brought back confidence and euphoria.

That's why it annoyed me so much that everything that had been rebuilt 15 or 16 years earlier was destroyed in one fell swoop.

Suddenly everything was back in the bucket.

You can see how tough the past three or four years have been to get people back into the ice rink.

Of course Corona also played a role.

which had been rebuilt over 15, 16 years earlier.

Suddenly everything was back in the bucket.

You can see how tough the past three or four years have been to get people back into the ice rink.

Of course Corona also played a role.

which had been rebuilt over 15, 16 years earlier.

Suddenly everything was back in the bucket.

You can see how tough the past three or four years have been to get people back into the ice rink.

Of course Corona also played a role.

One has the feeling that peace and constancy simply never return.

Exactly, that's the impression you get.

And it's always so difficult to clean up that scorched earth, to motivate people to go hockey again.

The general opinion in the region is: It's going again now, but let's see what comes next.

I do believe that Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a good ice hockey location.

One must not overlook the fact that all traditional clubs find it difficult, that one is always dependent on individual donors.

That's no secret.

Teams are never financially self-sufficient, whether in the DEL or in the Oberliga.

Do you think the DEL2 is still a realistic goal for the SCR?

I do think it could be done in the next few years.

The only question is: How sustainable is the whole thing then?

For a club as small as the SCR, the core of the team would have to consist of players from the region, from their own offspring.

This is the only way the whole thing can be financed.

I don't know how it should be able to cope with foreign players in the long run.

Luckily we are on the right track again as a youngster.

A promotion to the DEL2 would have to be on a healthy foundation.

Can you imagine being part of such a concept?

I would be lying if I said I don't give a damn now.

I've been around too long for that.

But: At the moment it's not high on my priority list.

In principle, however, I can already imagine doing something for the club, in whatever position.

I also have a little son who already runs around at home with a racket.

I suspect that I'll be back in the ice arena sooner than I can imagine right now.

100% there will be something I can do.

The last of a large guard at SCR: Florian Vollmer seems to be thinking about his end.

©Andreas Mayr

Apparently, it is still possible to pass on the ice hockey virus.

Especially as a former player.

After Uli Maurer and Stephan Wilhelm, you are now the last of a group of players who have stood for Riessersee ice hockey for many years.

That's already a cut for the SCR.

In any case.

I realize that when I look at my own team.

When it comes to Simon Mayr, I always think he's been playing forever.

Then I see when he was born: he is ten years younger.

And still one of the older ones in the team.

That pretty much sums up how big the gap is.

It's super important that former players get involved like Sepp Lehner or Markus Jocher.

It's also the case with them that the children play ice hockey themselves.

Then you try to help.

Nothing better can happen to a club.

You mentioned Simon Mayr.

From your point of view, is he the heir to the throne as a figure of identification and leader - even if he is of course a Söcheringer?

I would definitely say so.

And we already see Simon as a real local with us.

He has represented me as captain for 20 games this year and did it very well.

One sometimes forgets that he is not yet one of the super-experienced.

But he has brutal qualities on the ice, but also off it.

He's a clever guy, looks to the left and right off the ice, and continues to educate himself.

Those are qualities you need.

He is clearly my candidate as my successor.

You mentioned your personal list of priorities.

What's next?

That's not quite out yet.

I've already applied, but nothing is fixed yet.

In any case, I'll stay in the sports field and would like to do something with children.

I have now seen in Corona how important it is that children have someone to take care of them.

It was heard that Pana Christakakis would have liked to arrange a farewell game.

But you are not a big fan of this idea?

That is correct.

I'm just not the type for big goodbyes.

You don't have to do this for me alone.

I will definitely come back to the stadium like this.

Pana hasn't left me alone though and is now planning something for several players who quit.

I don't think I can get out of this number anymore (laughs).

I will not resist.

But then the bar won't move, will it?

(laughs) No.

It's best if I just don't move at all until then.

There will be no brief comeback at EV Mittenwald like Stephan Wilhelm did.

You said that before.

Yes, you won't see me in a league game anymore.

This has nothing to do with the EVM.

I just want to enjoy my free time with my family at the weekend.

At some point I'll get the urge to play again, maybe for the old men or for a hobby team.

Have you actually played center all your life?

(thinks) Yes, actually.

Spontaneously, is there any game that you particularly remember, a highlight?

phew

I remember one game really, really well: Game seven in the 2018 playoffs against Crimmitschau.

We slept through the series at the beginning and had to fight our way through.

Then we won the decisive game at home.

The sold-out derby against Bad Tölz this season was also special.

Or recently the home games in the Oberliga against Rosenheim were often there.

You could feel how much these games meant to the fans.

You saw that first hand.

That was a very nice feeling.